


War Birds

by InebriatedCaffeineImbiber



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-05-01 14:52:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14523036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InebriatedCaffeineImbiber/pseuds/InebriatedCaffeineImbiber
Summary: AU: When Atlas and Vale wage war against each other, two fighter Aces are sent against each other to fight for the glory of their kingdom. Their first encounter left much to be desired, and the fires of vengeance burn fiercely in both of them. Who will be the better pilot? Or will both plunge into the cold ocean below?





	1. Taking to the Skies

 

 

The cough inducing smoke belched from the exhausts, coating the windscreen in a veneer of grunge. The airframe leapt in anticipation as the engine growled and howled, the banging and explosions erupting from the pistons.

The brake was slowly let off and the airframe began to move, the growling and howling becoming louder and more prominent.

Ruby calmed her nerves as she grasped the flight stick with both hands, blinking away the adrenaline in her veins. She had done this plenty of times before, but it never failed to send her heart into overdrive.

She increased the throttle, and the airframe began to shudder forward as the propeller increased in revolutions per minute. Another bang and it was if the engine was free as it roared its loudest.

The airframe began to pick up speed and Ruby slowly felt the tail end lift up a bit, the speedometer reaching 150km/h.

'It's either now or never.' Ruby thought as she increased the throttle to full and rocketed down the runway and felt the airframe shudder. Another shudder and she slowly felt the wheels bounce off the dirt.

With a small heave she brought the stick back and the airframe left the ground completely and began to pull away from the earth. She flipped the switch to stow the wheels, the whining calming her.

With elation, she let out a massive scream of excitement as her fighter began to climb higher and higher in the sky, levelling with the horizon and barely skimming the treetops.

 

* * *

 

Weiss' fighter was cold and cramped, it never offered any comfort for she would be distracted from her job if it did.

A simple bombing run, that was all this mission was. Fly from Atlas and drop bombs on Vale, disrupt their supplies and the sort. Textbook warfare.

At least, that's what it was supposed to be.

Weiss couldn't help but scowl as one of her squad mates flew too far out of formation before correcting themselves., 'They are nothing but novices and fools, they will never see the end of this war.'

But she will, for she is Weiss Schnee. The best Ace that Atlas had to offer. She had to be the best, she had to succeed, she had to kill.

She had to survive.

Her thoughts were forced back as the novice voiced their concern over the microphone, "I am so sorry Lieutenant Schnee, please forgive me!"

"Ensure that it does not happen again or I will personally take your wings from you!" The airways stayed silent as the other squad mates tightened their formation while still keeping in line. Weiss scowled as she remembered her take off.

_Earlier_

The engine howled like a banshee as it turned over and kicked in, the exhausted spewing out gaseous smoke into the assistant's face. They hurried away and took out the wheel blocks as Weiss expertly increased the throttle and let off the brake.

The airframe nearly seized into a stall but she brought it back with practiced movements. The speedometer's needle made a steady movement to the right as she gathered speed down the runway.

'It's either now or never.' The thought raced through her mind as she smoothly pulled back on the flight stick and felt the wheels leave the ground, immediately flipping the switch to stow them.

Now… She was in her element. She owned the skies. Every Valean pilot she came across went down in flames.

She gained altitude faster as the watery sun glinted off the snowflakes that were painted meticulously on her wings and fuselage.

_Current time_

The sun was in her eyes. It was always in her eyes. No matter how much they tint the windscreen and how dark their flying goggles were, the sun always bored into their retinas.

Weiss hated that, it gave the Valean's the homefield advantage of a surprise attack. Right now, she wouldn't know if there was a squadron of fighters about to bear down on her due to the sun being at their backs.

"Keep a loose but close formation, and do not forget to check your sixes and above, these Valean's are tricky if you let them." Weiss let out a pent up breath and looked at her hand that was shaking. With a grunt she clenched her fist and stopped the shaking before taking hold of the stick with both hands again.

But over the din of her own engine and the airframe shaking, she could hear a very faint growl. With a gasp she looked over her shoulder to see a red and black fighter with a rose emblazoned on its wings and fuselage. And as she made eye contact with the pilot, those muzzles began to flash.

 

* * *

 

Ruby kept glancing far and wide. Originally HQ sent her and her wingman up here to investigate the reports of four bomb packed fighters heading towards a discreet but by no means insignificant factory and supply line.

She was puzzled as to why such a small force but she reasoned that they were most likely using the advantage of smaller numbers to increase their stealth possibilities.

She cracked her neck softly and cooed as she felt the amazing release of tension, "Nothing over here Buddy, what do you have?"

"I am see nothing but the expanse of the ocean, is Intel right on this?" The wingman queried.

"Well that remains to be seen but it does give us the opportunity to take in the sights, we rarely do get to be so high up it truly is a shame." She brought the stick down and levelled off as she continued to gaze around the area.

'Wait… What was that? A glint?' She peered through her scope and could see the slight flash of sunlight glancing off a snowflake? She was perplexed as she rubbed her eye and peered again and sure enough, there was their quarry.

"Found them, just below us to our left. Let them pass and then we'll hook in behind them."

"Rogie."

She breathed in deeply as she realised that the time was nearly upon her. The time to show that she was truly meant to be a pilot, meant to be an Ace.

She hadn't gotten the privilege of having her gold wings yet, still being stuck on silver. But she knew that the time will come.

As her quarry flew underneath her she smoothly pulled the plane into a steep dive and into an intercepting trajectory. Now she could see her opponents more clearly.

Standard diamond formation of four fighters with the leader being the tip of the diamond. 'Why does she have her symbol on the wings and the fuselage? Then again, I can't complain." She thought ruefully as the rose on her plane hadn't been forgotten.

As she got closer, she began to grace the trigger with her finger. That trigger lead to six individual .50 calibre machine guns mounted in the wings. Six ways to tear apart her enemy.

She had no misconceptions, she knew she was killing these people… But it was either her or them, and she didn't have any plans to die so soon.

Their targets came closer and closer. Their Atlesian symbols gleamed off the sunlight. As she lined up upon the leader and her wingman with her gunsight.

Ruby's wingman had split off and went after the other two fighters.

She breathed in deeply and looked into the eyes of the leader, squeezing the trigger and immediately felt the guns firing.

 

* * *

 

_Dakadakadakadakadakadaka_

That sound would haunt her for weeks to come as she immediately dove off to the right. Her wingman wasn't as lucky as his plane was buzz sawed in half by the force of the machine guns.

Weiss could hear the gunfire erupt from her left and saw another of her escort go down in flames, "Break away, drop now and break away!" She heaved on her stick and dropped her payload and felt her plane respond enthusiastically as the weight was gone.

She used her glyphs to increase the severity of the curve and to boost her plane as she began to climb towards that little red devil that took out her wingman.

She lined up the gun sights onto that swaying red and black target and squeezed the trigger.

Her 15mm machine guns mounted in the wings erupted in a hail of gunfire and blazed a path down to her target. But the target dodged away and pulled up and straightened out, shooting past her.

She growled in frustration as she yanked on her stick and used her glyphs to aid in her manoeuvre before seeing the sight of her final escort member being torn to shreds by the coordinated attack by the two Valean pilots.

Her blood began to boil as she flicked a switch on her stick and lined up the sights on the Red Pilot's wingman and shot a volley from her 30mm cannon and could only smirk as she saw the canopy turn red before the plane was reduced to a flaming wreck and began a steep dive into the ocean below.

 

* * *

 

'Man where do they get these pilots from!?' She thought in awe as she witnessed how easily her wingman was dispatched. But her heart beat raised in tempo and adrenaline surging through her body.

She gripped the flight stick hard and yanked it, turning her upside down but facing the only Atlesian pilot left. She smirked grimly as she caressed the trigger before sending a one second burst of lead at her target.

 

* * *

 

'That's what you get for daring to go up against Weiss Schnee.' She gloated in her mind as she rocketed past the plunging wreckage. But her attention was drawn to the red pilot from before. She growled in challenge before firing a volley from her cannon and diving away from the hail of lead.

'Gotta end this soon or never.' She cursed as she saw that her fuel was dropping slowly. Clearly some of those rounds hit her fuel tank. She thanked the stars that she wasn't a fireball.

With a final decision she used her glyphs one more time before switching back to her machine guns and made a heavy pass against her opponent.

 

* * *

 

'She's persistent I'll give her that!' Ruby commented as she dodged the hail but couldn't help the feeling that her plane was hit. She checked her fluids and saw that she was leaking oil, which was not good at all.

'I'm sorry my baby! But I gotta do this!' She heaved on the stick again, the airframe shuddering from the abuse. Ruby righted herself against her opponent and used her Semblance, blasted her way to incredible speeds and opened up on that girl in the enemy plane.

 

* * *

 

Both planes made passes at each other, both spitting out white hot lead.

And both found their mark.

 

* * *

 

"Infernal Machine!" Weiss yelled as she saw the warning lights and noises erupt from her dash. She scowled and glowered back at her opponent as she did a U turn and headed back to Atlas.

 

* * *

 

"Bloody hell!" Ruby exclaimed as her cockpit erupted with noise and lights. There was no way she could continue this fight, she could only hope that her opponent was in similar straits. She heaved on her stick and started to head back to Vale.

 

* * *

 

The two pilots flew past each other, glaring at each other as a silent vendetta began to set between them.

The next time they would meet, it would be to the death. Each knew for sure.

 

* * *

 

Ruby shuddered as she felt her plane scream in pain as she descended down onto the runway, it was going to be rough for sure.

She let the throttle down and slowly descended onto the ground, bouncing a bit off the hard dirt as she came to a hard halt, being thrown back from the sudden stop.

"Ruby! Are you okay?!" She heard her mechanic and sister Yang hurry to her as the engine died.

"Yeah, I'm fine Yang, just a bit shaken." She huffed and opened the canopy before climbing out, collapsing onto her elder sister and buried her face into her neck.

"Where's your wingman?" Yang asked fearfully.

"Taken by the sea sis." She whimpered and held her sister tightly. Yang nodded and escorted Ruby back to HQ's tent for a debrief as a team of mechanics swarmed her plane.

 

* * *

 

Weiss could only glower at her dash as she automatically landed her plane as best she could before it finally gave out.

"Lieutenant Schnee, didn't expect you to be back so early, and alone." Her mechanic, Blake smirked cattily but with concern.

"Nothing to be expected of novices and fools Blake. Do not cry for them." She commented crisply as she dismounted her destroyed plane.

"You certainly don't slack off on the work I have to do. Finally met your match did you?"

She scoffed, "No, just a lucky upstart who doesn't know her place in the world. She will be in my sights soon enough."

Blake started writing on her clipboard before looking back up, "I'm glad to see that you came back alive Weiss, I was awfully worried when it was only you coming back so early."

Weiss' gaze soften before embracing Blake in a small hug, "I appreciate the concern Blake, don't worry. It takes more than a redhead to bring me down."

She released the Faunus before nodding politely and making her way to her superior for a debrief.


	2. The Thrill of a Challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first run in with each other left themselves desiring more.

"This is her!?" Weiss exclaimed in disbelief as she poured over a folder.

"Yup, it is definitely her. No one else in the Valean Air Force paints a rose on their airframe. Who you are looking at right now is the one that shot down your operation two days ago." Blake looked over the paperwork for the repairs of Weiss' fighter plane.

"But she's just a child! She's barely my age and she is in an airwing like that!?" Wiess pounded the table in frustration. The small photo of Ruby was smiling at her, in her Valean Air Force uniform and looking excited for the future.

"Makes you wonder how she is your equal." Blake commented with a small smirk.

Weiss glared at her. "She is not my equal, she is an inferior pilot with an insane luck streak." She spat with venom not at Blake, but at the folder in front of her.

"Luck can only get you so far. Are you going to request a better fighter plane?" She looked up from her clipboard and studied Weiss intently.

She matched then Faunus' gaze with a rare fire. "No. If I am to prove my superiority, I must defeat her in the same plane I was in when we first exchanged bullets." She leafed through the folder again and sputtered in indignation. "Where did she come from anyways!? I have never heard of her before this incident but according to this report she's already had 25 confirmed air victories!"

"Atlas doesn't like posting news about Valean Aces as it may demoralise the troops. You know how it goes, half of the war is won by bullets and the other half won by hearts." She reached down and cleaned out the rest of the report before filing it away. "And I wouldn't be too disturbed by how easily she matched you for you have had little challenge with these amateur pilots."

Weiss nodded emphatically. "Yes, with the appalling performance from the Valean Air Force I have fallen into a lazy trap. I must hone my skills again." Weiss stood up and walked out of the tent, taking her coat with her.

'However, what if she was a secret project and they released her with only one escort fighter to see if she was capable? Is Vale training super pilots, somehow? But Atlas has the most advanced training facilities in Remnant… How is she trained?' The thought of Vale having better training facilities made Weiss shudder at the prospect.

 

* * *

 

"Awwww come on sis! Let me fly her again!" Ruby squeaked in defiance as her big, blonde sister held the keys out of her reach.

"And let you put holes in her again? No thank you. She is one of the few oldies we've got left, so you're assigned to a Meteor for the time being." Yang huffed as she placed the keys in her bra before turning around and placing her tools back on the shelf.

"A METEOR!? You know I hate those new things on the block! There was a reason why I chose Crescent Rose over those piles of junk!" Ruby wailed on her elder sisters back fruitlessly.

Yang couldn't help but giggle at her little sister's antics. "Come now Ruby, those are brand new fighters that the research team developed. They are the best we can offer."

"But they're not piston pounders like Crescent Rose, they aren't reliable like her." Ruby mumbled morosely before being engulfed by her sister.

"I know, I know how you feel. She is an amazing plane but she's an older generation. She will be phased out eventually. It's just the way we do things."

Ruby started to pick at Yang's overalls before a thought struck her. "It's strange how I haven't seen any fighter jets from Atlas yet."

"It's only cause our jets have had a breakthrough that we're able to field them so early. They still have some problems with them that need ironing out but they're overall safe." Yang hummed happily as she rolled up Crescent Rose's blueprints.

"Armaments?" Ruby enquired, begrudgingly intrigued.

"Four 20 millimetre cannons coupled with two 50 calibre machine guns per cannon." Yang shook out her hair before letting out a sigh of relief, today day was a long day.

Ruby's eyes widened immensely. "Wow, that's a lot of firepower, so much more than Crescent Rose."

"Yeah well we can't really change her airframe to include more powerful guns, so they kinda have to be built from the ground up to include the weapons." Yang then tied her hair in a ponytail before looking at her little sister. "Now you, Missy, must leave while I try to get Crescent Rose in the garage. Command doesn't want you anywhere near her until you can fly smart." Yang began to exit the small garage.

"Fly smart? What do they mean fly smart?" Ruby followed her.

Yang waited until she's out before locking up. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. Maybe a visit to No Man's Land can give you a new perspective." She walked off while stretching.

Ruby pondered for a moment before heading off absentmindedly to the Intelligence Tent.

She entered the tent and was greeted with the sight of a blonde woman who looked rather serious as she rifled through stacks of papers. "H-hello Glynda."

The aforementioned blonde looked up with a small smile. "Ah, Miss Rose. It is good to see you are safe. What can I do for you?"

"U-ummm. Do you have any documents or reports or sightings about an Atlesian fighter that has a snowflake symbol on the airframe?"

Glynda pursed her lips before flicking through a rather thick folder before pulling out a sheaf of paper. "Snowflake on the airframe, sounds like Myrtenaster for sure. Flown by one Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Family, big players in the Dust game. Unfortunately we don't have much else on her." She handed the papers to Ruby before turning back to her work.

"Thanks Glynda!" Ruby beamed at her before jaunting out of the tent and started towards her own tent, closing the flap and lighting a lamp to look over the file.

"Hmm, Weiss Schnee. Atlesian Ace for over two years and over 50 confirmed air victories. Prefers to do missions solo but is known to do small bombing runs." She read over the rest of the file silently.

Little did she know, that Yang was watching her with worry. 'I hope Ruby isn't developing a vengeance about this girl, I can't stand the thought of her getting hurt.' She sighed silently before leaving her little sister to her own devices.

It was well over an hour before Ruby moved. She got up suddenly and dashed out of the tent, grabbing her long coat as she did so and hurried to her assigned Meteor. As per orders, it had been serviced and maintained and fuelled up for immediate departure. No one questioned her when she slid into the cockpit and started the plane.

Ruby could only grimace as she heard the wailing of the twin jet engines on each side of the airframe. It had no beat, no rhythm, completely smooth and undecipherable. Ruby much preferred the pounding of the pistons, she could feel each explosion through her feet.

She sighed with an eye roll before letting off the brake and move down onto the runway. She increased the throttle and the airframe began to rocket down the pavement before it gave a shudder as it gained altitude.

Needless to say, Ruby was quite impressed, they did manage to get out most of the problems and the plane itself was a genuine pleasure to fly. She had to remind herself that this wasn't Crescent Rose so she needed to slow down earlier and not bank as hard.

She oriented her plane towards No Man's Land, a flying citadel situated above Vacuo where people from all countries can come to relax without the fear of being gunned down. For there was one golden rule that was held to the strictest certainty: No killing is to be committed in No Man's Land.

Ruby decreased the throttle as soon as the big floating structure loomed in the distance. "Citadel Air Control, I am Ruby Rose requested a landing spot."

A young female voice came over the speakers. "Welcome back Miss Rose, may I request the meaning of your visit?"

"Just to unwind and have fun Jackie, no biggie." Ruby smiled as she circled in the designated waiting area.

"Of course, you have lot 563 cleared and awaiting your landing. We are glad to have you back Miss Rose and as always, obey the Golden Rule."

"Wouldn't dream of breaking it." She switched off the comms and headed towards her landing spot. She nearly forgot to deploy her landing gear as she landed somewhat roughly on the patch of soil and suddenly slowed down by the Gravity Dust crystals that lined the ground.

She exited with a flourish and chucked her helmet onto her seat before shutting the cockpit and walking straight to the elevator.

"Nice kicks Rose! Where'd you steal this from?" A friendly face of a fellow aviator waved at her.

"Nothing major, just Vale's garage!" Ruby smiled and waved at them as the elevator's doors closed on her.

She shot up, each ding representing a floor passed until she reached the restaurant. She smiled as heart thumping music filled her ears, she glided across the floor and sit at her regular table absentmindedly shaking her body to the music.

"What can I get you, Miss Rose?" A very clean waiter paused in front of her with a friendly smile.

"Just a non alcoholic Strawberry Sunrise, with a little umbrella." Ruby fluttered her eyelashes at him in a sort of friendly way. "I heard that you make the best."

"Well I do, only when I'm bartending, Andre is tending tonight."

"Oh really? I thought he quit?"

"He did, but then he found out that the regular life just isn't for him. He loves the restaurant life." The waiter whisked away with her order, leaving Ruby to ponder.

"Ah! Miss Schnee! A delight to have you!" The world narrowed down to that sentence as she cast her gaze wide and sure enough, there was the white haired Heiress in her Ace uniform, a golden falcon resting above a banner shining brightly on her lapel.

 

* * *

 

'Maybe if I go looking around here, I can gather information about this Ruby Rose.' Weiss pondered as she strutted from her replacement fighter. She entered an elevator and addressed all of the occupants. "Do any of you know someone named Ruby Rose?"

"Yeah, Valean fighter Ace and a nice kid. What else?" A random pilot answered, he looked like a nobody to her.

"Is she competent?" Weiss inquired.

"Better than most of the air jockey's you see on this base, she does have an extraordinary talent." The pilot walked out as soon as the elevator opened.

Weiss thought over what he said as the doors slid shut. 'If she's got some reputation on this floating rock then she must be halfway competent."

A ding signified that she had arrived at the restaurant. Strutted out and waved out a greetings towards the bartender who waved back. "Ah! Miss Schnee! A delight to have you!"

Weiss smiled as she approached the bar. "Hello Andre, how is the family? Also the regular for me please."

"Sure, and the family is doing great, just moved onto a new flat in Menagerie. Real nice place." He popped the top open on a beer and slid it towards the white headed heiress before scooting off to serve other customers.

"Here you are Miss Rose, a non alcoholic Strawberry Sunrise with the little umbrella, just as you asked."

Weiss' body went as taut as a bowstring as she heard that name. Ruby Rose… The little girl that destroyed her bombing sortie.

 

* * *

 

Ruby almost thrashed the waiter for being so loud, but could only merely offer a graceful smile as she accepted her drink. "Thank you very much, that will be all for now."

She saw Weiss stand up and made her way towards the little redhead and took a seat opposite to her.

It took all of Ruby's willpower to not throttle her. "What a surprise to see you here, never knew that Atlas would allow their pilots to drink."

Weiss took a sip before tapping her bottle. "Atlas realises that every pilot needs their vice when they take to the skies, mine just happens to be drinking." She crossed her arms before gazing at the smaller girl.

"Not a surprise, with such a large stick up your behind, I'd do anything to get rid of it." Ruby smirked behind her glass as she took a sip.

"Must you always act the child? I honestly find it hard to believe that you were the one who shot down my sortie. You completely do not fit the ideal fighter Ace." Weiss regarded her haughtily.

"Your ideal fighter Ace is one who whips their subordinates into line while taking all of the glory. I keep my wingman safe by taking the shots that were meant for them." She took a larger sip with a sneer.

She smiled and tilted her head. "Taking the shots huh?" She reached into her coat and pulled out a toggle locked pistol, laying it on the table facing Ruby. "What about this one?"

If Ruby was afraid, she did not show it. Her eyes fell on the pistol in front of her as she took another sip from her glass. "You are aware of the Golden Rule, are you not?"

"Oh I am well aware, I have been here for quite a while. But the opportunity to be rid of a painful thorn in my backside and in Atlas' backside does not present it very often. So the dilemma is rather fraught with benefits and side effects." She lifted the pistol and pointed it at her. "And so far, to me. The benefits are outweighing the side effects."

Ruby looked down at the barrel before looking at her. "You honestly think you'd make it out? When people realise what you've done, it won't be long before you are grounded and reprimanded by the fullest extent of No Man's Land's law."

The air was thick with tension as the seconds crawled on. None of the patrons seemed to mind as they were sure no such thing would be carried out while in No Man's Land. Weiss just took her finger off the trigger before sliding it back into its holster. "Of course, my superiors would be extremely displeased if I have been detained."

"Yeah, and I'm pretty sure you'd be angry that you wouldn't be able to have any kids." Ruby smirked.

Confused, Weiss looked down and saw the tiny glint of a revolver barrel aimed straight at her lower area. Her eyes widened as she came to realise what was going on. 'How did she even draw that without me noticing!?' She looked back up at Ruby with a red tint of embarrassment on her face and a fire in her eyes.

Ruby nonchalantly holstered her revolver before finishing her drink and standing up. "Thanks Andre, send the bill to my office and I'll have it paid in full. Gotta dash real quick." She hurried to the elevator and rode it down.

Once she reached the hangar she wasted no time in jumping in her jet and taking off, keen to get out of there as quick as she could.

 

* * *

 

Weiss was lightly fuming as she saw the retreating figure of Ruby. She huffed annoyingly as she grabbed her drink and looked out the window as the redhead backed out of her spot and took off back to Vale.

"One day Ruby Rose. One day, I swear."


	3. The Bittersweet Taste of Defeat

"We'll be dropping bombs on Atlas in retaliation to the sortie that our Ace, Ruby Rose, foiled two days ago. We will have two bombers loaded with cluster bombs and incendiary bombs to prevent quick repairs. Each bomber will be guarded by two jets and 2 piston pounders. The areas selected are very sparse in civilian population and will be heavily guarded by flak and fighters. Pilots you already know your assignments. Let's bring it home ladies and gents." The commander turned off the display and left the briefing room, leaving over twenty people alone.

Ruby couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "Straight into the mouth of the guard dog huh?" She smiled weakly.

Until the air raid siren started to wail.

She dashed out of the tent faster than anyone else, bolting towards Crescent Rose and scurrying up the ladder and entering the cockpit. She slammed her helmet on and could only breathe once before she started the engine and was already onto the runway. She connected her air hose during this and closed the canopy before she pelted down the runway at full speed, rising from the ground and rocketing into the air.

It would be a while before anyone else could follow her. She looked behind and only just saw pilots getting into their planes before her speakers crackled. "Little Red, Little Red. This is Papa Dragon. We have confirmed reports of multiple fighters and bombers heading towards Vale as we speak. You will be joined by the 151st Air Squadron, the 152nd Jet Fighters and the 206th Mobile Fortresses. We also have reports of Myrtenaster in their formation. I urge you to forget about your vendetta against Schnee and concentrate on stopping those bombers."

"Roger sir, Little Red is on station." She increased the throttle of her engine and could only breathe a sigh of nervousness. It was all to sudden. She flicked the master safe switch on her dash, causing it to light up her ammo indicator and a red light to come on. Now she was ready to rock and roll.

 

* * *

 

That bloody sun blazed into Weiss' eyes again. Except unlike last time, she had a whole formation of planes behind her. She was joined by the 588th Night Witches, the 265th High Flyers and the 142nd Endurance Bombers.

"Remember, we split into three groups after we reach their international border and target their factories. Civilian casualties are to be kept at an absolute minimum. If you miss your target, you dump into the sea on when you're on the route back to base. That is an order from the General himself. Drop in the ocean or when you double back if you miss your window." Weiss spoke harshly into the channel that they were attuned to.

Various acknowledgements could be heard as the whole formation increase the throttle of their engines, reaching higher speeds. Weiss sighed deeply and took a moment to look out at the beautiful sunset. Vale was truly lucky in regard to how beautiful their natural scenery was.

She jerked to reality and scowled at her naiveite, squeezing the stick with a white knuckle grip. She sighed her stress away before using her sight to look at her objective. She couldn't see any shapes emerging from any nearby airfields, yet there were some on the runway. 'We must've slipped under their radar, probably unprepared for any attack of this magnitude.' She smirked in assurance and flicked her master safety switch, the ammo counter light up and a red glow emanated from the dash.

 

* * *

 

'Wow, they either must be really blind or Yang did something to CR that made her really fast.' Ruby pondered as she stared down the formation… from behind.

How she got there and why she hadn't been spotted were one of the many questions that plagued her mind as she slowly began to drift lower. The others were going to have to meet them head on at this rate, the least she could do is send some of those monstrosities to the bottom of the ocean.

With a final breath and the adrenaline pumping in her veins, she pushed the stick diagonal to her right slightly, putting her on a collision course with one of the bombers.

"Let's see what Yang has done to you, my dear Crescent Rose." She increased the throttle and felt the plane jump in the air as she began to lead on her target. She looked to her left and right to check her airframe before focussing back on track.

She had the correct lead. The target was perfectly in place… Time to fire. She closed her eyes.

A squeeze of the trigger. A millisecond later, an explosion from both sides.

She took a deep breath in as her eyes flew open as she felt the raw power of the twin 25mm cannons mounted underneath the wings. The large eruptions shook the frame and she let off the trigger with a panic as she worried that she was going to tear her plane apart.

But her two second burst had results. Three stacks of planes burst into flames and descended into the dark ocean below them. Ruby had to pull herself back to align herself with another stack and sending another two second burst.

By this time, the formation had already scattered so only two stacks went down in flames. But that was enough for Ruby to blitz in between the ranks and pull up, rocketing underneath another bomber and setting them on fire as she passed.

She became acutely aware that tracer rounds were buzzing around her like high speed fireflies, but she paid them no heed. All she had to do was bring down the ones carrying ordnance, and she could go home free as a bird.

What she didn't account for, was the snowflake symbol to appear behind her. Some Sixth Sense caused her to look over her shoulder to see that twinkling symbol on Weiss' airframe. She felt a rare surge of anger and glared at Weiss with all the hatred she could muster, before going down into a steep dive.

 

* * *

 

Weiss didn't like it; how easy it was being right now. Her instincts were screaming that there was a whole formation of planes surrounding them and she couldn't see them. So it came as little surprise when three stacks of planes went down in her field of view.

Instinctively, she looked up and saw that awfully familiar rose petal dash between the formation and brought down two more. Weiss immediately reacted by heaving on her stick and began to follow Ruby. She lined her up in her sights but somehow it was as if Ruby knew she was there as the younger girl casted an inhuman look at Weiss before diving.

That look was all it took to stop Weiss from unloading onto Ruby right there. She felt a slight tremble throughout her body before Ruby dove down. Shaking herself awake, Weiss followed her.

Somehow, her plane was behaving different from before. She was turning tighter, climbing faster and her firepower was increased. 'Finally, a challenge.' She grinned as she began to tail Ruby with difficulty.

'She's ignoring me.' Weiss gritted her teeth as she and Ruby dashed between the stacks. However, she was moving so fast that the other escort fighters couldn't keep up with her. "Just keep the rest safe! I will deal with her!" She screamed into the receiver before firing a burst at Ruby.

Ruby just ducked and weaved between each plane, each stack having one less plane than before. Each pass, Weiss became increasingly infuriated. "Alright Miss Rose, let's see you face a Schnee."

 

* * *

 

Ruby began to see symbols appear around her and she knew what was coming. She suddenly cut all power to her engine and went into a deep dive, screaming down towards the ocean. She looked behind to see that Weiss gave chase.

She did, now for the task at hand. She had to time this perfectly, or she'd be an oil slick on the surface of the ocean. She focussed and took a breath, suddenly igniting her engine and yanking hard on the stick.

Her plane squealed from the stress and shook as it pulled hard upwards. She could see Weiss follow her from behind and decided to blast a dose of her Semblance to enhance her speed. Shooting way beyond Weiss' field of vision. She yanked again and attacked her from above, putting a few small holes in the wing span before focussing back on the formation.

By now the defence force had already engaged with the whole formation and planes were going down everywhere. Threes and twos chasing down fives and sixes, the battle was equal as the highly trained Atlesian pilots fought off the numerous and more technologically advanced Valeans. But it would all come to a head as the whole formation broke through a cloud and Vale was in sight.

Ruby's eyed widened as she flipped on a switch, to which rockets stowed underneath her wings dropped and followed their targets with a deadly tune. Several explosions marked their detonation and Ruby pulled on her stick again to do a flip and appeared behind a pair of fighters, to which she promptly sent down to the bottomless depths of the ocean.

By now, both sides had suffered heavy losses and some of the Atlesian's were dropping early on their targets and beating a hasty retreat. Ruby was eying every one of them and was actively searching for Weiss, whom she had lost during the spree she went on.

"Mobile Fortresses, back off and defend the deeper parts of Vale, the 151 and the 152s can handle it from here, spearhead the defence and ensure that no other bombers pierce our more important factories and production facilities." She increased the throttle again and dropped onto an unsuspecting bomber, tearing open the canopy and pelting multiple holes into it.

But it never went down, to which Ruby growled in annoyance before she realised that the whole formation was breaking away from Vale and heading straight back to Atlas. She smiled in victory before whooping in triumph.

But what caught her eye was that bomber she just shot at, it was close by and she still had ammo. So she went straight after it.

But after she closed in to bring it down, she could see through the holes she made in the fuselage that the occupants were too busy trying to keep the plane flying to even worry about her.

She felt torn between two decisions. These people tried to attack her homeland, so she should feel incensed to send them into the ocean.

But they were so vulnerable… They couldn't even attempt to fight her off.

Making half a decision, she pulled up next to them and peered into the cockpit. She saw two pilots frantically motioned towards her as they alerted the rest of the crew. She looked on with a dead expression before removing her mask and staring right in the eyes of the pilots. She reached down and flicked the master safety switch, the red light disappearing.

They seemed to have understood her intentions as they calmed down somewhat, but the fear in their eyes was all the more prevalent. They were way out of formation and were practically stranded. But Ruby didn't worry about that, all she did was watch out for any possible rogue pilots or any Valeans who thought to make an easy stripe.

She escorted the bomber through the whole way. Never once did she engage that switch and never once did her dash light up.

Once she could see the landmass that was Atlas, she looked at the pilots again.

They looked back and she gave a salute with a small smile, to which they promptly returned before she pulled away.

What she didn't account for, was the snow white symbol following her from high above. Once Ruby started pulling away, Weiss dove down and delivered a swift two second burst to her airframe.

Ruby didn't see her in time, and felt the aircraft scream in stress as she attempted to rein her aircraft in. She growled and gave Weiss a death stare before tumbling down to the landmass.

 

* * *

 

Ruby could only hope to the gods that she doesn't become a smear across the ground.

She tried hard to keep her plane airborne as the engine sputtered and died from fuel exhaustion. She swore as the plane bucked and groaned under the stress.

She could only do so much as her plane plummeted to the land. She yanked open her landing gear and made her way to land.

The touchdown was harsh, the say the least. The landing gear snapped and the body was twisted and mangled. The tail snapped off and a wing was sent cartwheeling into the nearby forest before she came to an absolute halt in front of hill.

She could only groan in pain as she felt a spearing feeling through her left leg. She looked down and saw a small iron rod protrude from her right thigh. With a spit, she yanked it out with a howl and nearly blacked out from the pain.

 

* * *

 

Little did she know that there were two hunters watching her from the forest. "That rose, I've seen it before… It couldn't be."

The female of the two looked at her husband. "When you were in the Valean Air Force? How? Who is that?"

The dusty old crow of a man looked at his Ice Queen. "That is Ruby Rose, also known as Little Red."

"What should we do?" She enquired of her husband.

"We help her out… For now. Officially we aren't meant to help either side. But I think this is different." He moved forward towards the downed plane and opened the cockpit, revealing a bleeding and barely conscious Ruby staring back at him, revolver glinting in the early dawn light.

"Hey now, I'm not here to hurt you." He showed her the wings and dog tag that hung around his neck to her, the only ones that Valean Air Force pilots wore.

She calmed down somewhat, but still kept her revolver in her hand. "W-who are you?"

"My callsign was Crow." He unbuckled her from the seat and helped Ruby out of the cockpit.

"C-Crow? Where have I heard that name befo-." She dropped into unconsciousness.

"I-is she alright?" The woman enquired behind him as she stared down at the small body of Ruby.

"She's unconscious from the pain, but she'll live. Just gotta stop the bleeding and bandage it. Luckily we didn't go out too far from home. But I should do some minor medical work here before we continue."

"I'll go get a fire started so we can boil some bandages." She smiled at him.

"Took the words right out of my mouth Ice Queen." He reached down and gave his wife a small peck on the lips before hauling Ruby out of the cockpit.

He looked down at her with a pensive look on his face. "So someone finally beat you huh Little Red?"


	4. Compassion in War

Ruby felt warm, very warm. Strange, she thought that all she would feel was cold… 'What happened? Schnee shot me down and I crash landed… And Crow found me? Wait! Where am I!?'

She jerked herself awake and saw a beautiful and youthful woman with snow white hair sitting legs folded on a chair next to her, sipping out of a tea cup. Ruby gave her the once over. Mature, well proportioned but with a sense of power underneath her skin. The face was harsh but soft at the same time, as if she spent the majority of her life in the military but still enjoyed the rest of her life. Her small smile was somewhat comforting, those red lips curling into a natural curve on her fair face. Those eyes contained intelligence, wisdom and maturity. But also comfort and safety, she clearly displayed no ill intention towards Ruby.

But it was the colour of her hair and eyes that made Ruby all of a sudden reached for her revolver. The woman barely moved an inch as Ruby pulled the trigger.

Click… Click…

The smile grew wider on her face. "Not the warmest greeting I've ever had, but certainly far better than ones I would usually get from a Valean Air Force Pilot." She took another sip out of her tea.

Ruby fumed underneath the coat that was drawn over her. "Schnee…"

The woman's eyes twinkled at the mention of her name. "Infinitely better."

Ruby scowled at her and placed her revolver back down onto the nightstand. She stared at her intensely.

She rolled her eyes gracefully. "I suppose introductions are in order. You already know my last name so half marks on that. My full name is Winter Schnee." Winter bowed her head with exuded grace before taking another sip.

"You're Weiss' sister." Ruby spat out with venom which didn't seem to perturb Winter in the slightest. If anything, it made her demeanour warmer and her smile sweeter.

"Smart and skilled as well, no wonder they like you so much. What a brilliant deduction, I am indeed Weiss' elder sister." She placed her tea cup down and folded her hands in her lap.

Ruby stared around. She was in a study of some sort, books lined the shelves that seemingly covered all traces of walls. There was a roaring fire in the hearth which was aided by a healthy infusion of lumber. The smell drifted to Ruby's nostrils and she could detect a hint of cinnamon and honey. She looked over to see Winter offer her a cup. "Go on Ruby… It's not poison of something like that, don't think Qrow would be thrilled if it was."

Ruby reluctantly took grasp of the teacup and took a timid sip. The tea was hot, but the flavour flooded her mouth and she felt slightly rejuvenated. She looked at the woman in muted amazement as she took another sip. Winter could only tilt her head and offer the sweetest and brightest of smiles. "It's good, isn't it? Qrow discovered it himself, we've got our own little tea leaf farm here."

Ruby's brow furrowed at that. "Tea leaf farm in Atlas, in this cold climate?"

"My you are smart. Yes, normally Atlas is too cold for such a tea leaf but we've bred ours for the climate." Winter said with a hint of pride.

"Wait… You said Qrow earlier."

"I did indeed. My husband." She flashed a simple silver band wrapped around her ring finger.

"Qrow, as in Harbinger Qrow? The Qrow who revolutionised dog fighting as we know it?" Ruby said with disbelief.

Winter nodded. "Mhm, certainly the one. He doesn't like to go by that name anymore, but I'm sure he'd be thrilled that he has such an energetic fan."

Ruby blushed at that and sat silently, sipping her tea and closing her eyes to enjoy the taste. Winter smiled softly before she poured herself another cup and joined Ruby in the activity of enjoying tea.

"I never took you for a tea drinker, Miss Rose." Winter commented.

"I never really got the chance to discover the different flavours, it was just Air Force base coffee for me. Which to be honest kinda tasted like crap." Ruby ranted somewhat.

Winter giggled. "There are types of coffee in the world that are derived from the droppings of animals. Cats specifically."

Ruby recoiled in disgust. "Gross! Why would anyone what that?!" She shuddered in the thought of drinking cat crap.

"Apparently it's to do with social status. Due to how labour intensive it is to get the beans, they are commonly a luxury. Though I don't it will catch on to the lower classes."

"You seem to know an awful lot bout this… Where you part of the social elite too?"

"For a time, yes. But that was before I went into the Air Force which is when I ran into Qrow. Literally and figuratively." A hint of a smile was hiding behind the tea cup.

"Ohhh! Do tell!" Ruby inched forward with excitement.

"Well it was a rather funny story. You see, Qrow was parked at No Man's Land. But his place as a very small one, you could say… And I unfortunately did not see it so I kinda… Squashed it." She spoke with a blush on her face.

Ruby giggled for a bit before bursting out into hearty chuckles. "You squashed his plane!?"

"Yeah and left me with the repair bill." A gruff voice emanated behind Winter, who turned around and smiled at the newcomer.

"Ah, Husband. We were just chatting about that time when we first met."

"Oh I heard… She was a bit snooty at first, insisting that I was to blame for having such a small plane. But it wasn't until security showed up and showed her the footage that she realised that she had been flying a behemoth compared to others. And my poor plane was never recovered." A smile belied the gruffness in his voice.

"Oh it wasn't that bad… I tried to pay half of the bill but Atlas wouldn't let me." She pouted.

"Yeah, still didn't stop you from harassing me two days later by trying to follow me around all over Remnant." He smirked and folded his arms as he looked down at her.

She blushed deeply. "Hush you big oaf, I did no such thing. It would be undignified of me." She crossed her arms and looked away in faux anger.

Qrow chuckled before placing a soft hand on her shoulder and looking down at her adoringly. "I know you're looking at me like that. I'm not looking."

"Sure you won't, but oh well." He looked over at Ruby and offered her a smile.

"So how did you guys leave the Air Force, and have them leave you alone?" Ruby enquired with wonder.

"Well I asked for official leave due to extreme stress. The VAF weren't really as strict back then so I got released easily." Qrow sat next to Winter and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Well mine was a bit different. I wanted to leave after a few years of constantly being shot at, and I didn't feel comfortable about shooting other people. So for a rather illegal deal, my release came at the price of my sister's enlistment."

"Ouch, so that's why she is so cold."

"Oh so you have met her?" Winter looked on with interest.

"Yeah, in No Man's Land. She tried to shoot me." Ruby remarked with obvious sourness.

"Oh really? Wow, never thought she would try to do that. Though I suppose that is my partially my fault, I haven't been home in a long time." Winter mumbled guiltily, to which Qrow brought her closer to him.

"Not your fault Ice Queen. Don't know what Atlas wanted with Weiss, but they got her. You couldn't really do anything about it…"

"I should've stayed in, Qrow. She didn't deserve to become a weapon for the Atlas Air Force."

"What you wanted, and what they did, isn't connected at all. You wanted to a better life for yourself, they are the ones who forced Weiss into it. I wouldn't blame yourself."

Winter glazed over for a bit before shaking herself back to reality. "You're quite right Qrow. It's just, difficult. I can't help but feel responsible for what has happened to her."

Ruby awkwardly sat in silence as the couple talked to each other. "I'm sure you've met her in the skies, haven't you?" She looked up to see Winter looking at her.

She nodded meekly. "She's the reason why I'm here now. I met her when Atlas was going to attack Vale. I was in the air first, I did what I did best. And I got shot down."

Qrow tilted his head in confusion. "That's it? You fly into the air, shoot some people down and then get shot down yourself? Why do I get the feeling about how that isn't the whole story?" He intertwined his fingers with Winter's and kissed the back of her hand.

Ruby went silent as she looked at the bandage wrapped around her thigh. "You're right… There is more to the story." She took a deep breath and looked at her hands. "There was a bomber that I shot at earlier, somehow it didn't go down immediately… When the attack broke away, I saw them limping in the sky and well behind formation. Seems like Atlas doesn't enforce looking after your fellow man."

"I… I saw the plane and I didn't shoot them, cause when I got closer I could see that they were barely flying, trying everything they can to keep the bomber afloat. So I moved in and had a brief hand communication with the pilots, and switched off my master safety switch… I then continued to escort them out of Valean air space and stayed until we entered Atlesian air space. It was then after a few more hand signals and a salute, I departed… In hindsight I guess Weiss was just trailing me and waited for the right moment to shoot me down, because as soon as I broke away she came out of nowhere and shot me. My plane took a dive and I barely landed her. And well… You know the story after that better than me."

She fell silent, as did the other two. The silence stretched on uncomfortably before Winter slowly reached over and softly placed her hand over Ruby's, who looked up in confusion. "Ruby, what you did for that crew was nothing short of compassion and bravery. You could've shot them down but you continued to escort them back home. They are alive, because of you. Their families get to see them again, because of you."

Ruby began to shed tears. "But I am useless as a pilot if I can't do what needs to be done!" She shouted through choking tears. Winter stood up and sat next to her, placing Ruby's head against her chest.

"That is what people without compassion want you to do. But when you go against them, to preserve the life of people who are misguided or who just want an end to this war. You have shown compassion and mercy at a time where no one else would. And for that… You are more human than they are."

Ruby kept sobbing into the embrace as Winter held her close. Qrow looked on grimly as he played with his wedding ring. "The first casualty of war is Truth. The second is Innocence…" He stared off into the distance as he slowly lost focus.

After a while Ruby began to calm down as sleep began to take her. The trio were left with silence as they pondered what to do. Winter looked up at Qrow. "There is nothing we can do, is there?"

He was already shaking his head before she finished her sentence. "Unfortunately not, we can probably shelter her for at most a week, but Vale and Atlas will send a search party for her. And I don't want to think what the consequences will be if they catch us harbouring Ruby Rose. They'd have to, cause Atlas wants to confirm her KIA, and Vale wants to ensure that she's just MIA and not KIA." He looked at the slumbering form of Ruby. "We will eventually have to hand her back to Vale…"

"How are we going to do that? We are living in Atlas as of right now." Winter murmured as she stroked Ruby's hair. "I mean… It's not like we can send her on a flight to No Man's Land as that would raise alarms."

Qrow's eyes shined as he stared at his wife. "Winter, you are nothing but a genius."

Winter looked at him in confusion before a look of understanding dawned on her face.

The plane coughed as it turned over for the first time in three years. Black smoke spewed from the exhausts as the engine heated up. The propeller began its endless revolution as Qrow equalised the RPMs.

He looked down at his wife. "Stay safe Qrow, please make sure she gets there safely…" Winter held the lapels of his coat.

He gave her a small smirk and a peck on the lips. "Don't worry Ice Queen. We'll be fine." They shared a kiss before Winter stepped down and walked a safe distance from the plane. Qrow gave her a wave as he gave a last minute check on the tube that was placed under his wing. In that tube was a sedated Ruby strapped safely for transport.

Qrow softly inched the accelerator forward and the plane responded by gathering speed as it began to fly down the makeshift runway. With a small shove, he pushed the accelerator to its full extent and controlled the plane until it began to gain altitude.

With a sharp turn, he banked the plane to fly around the property to gain altitude. Before he turned off, he gazed at his wife before giving her a small wave before turning off and orientating himself to No Man's Land.

"No Man's Land come in for communication. No Man's Land please come in for communication."

"I copy Pilot, this is No Man's Land control, what's your callsign and reason of call?"

"My callsign is Crow, ID number 7482. I'm requesting landing permission into Dock 4 for a meeting with Valean officials."

"Your request is accepted, good to see you in the skies again Crow. Remember the Golden Rule of No Man's Land, and enjoy your stay."

"Thanks Command, I appreciate it."

He slowed himself down as he began the landing sequence on his given runway. He set the plane down softly and expertly and turned off the engine. He took off his helmet and rolled his neck and shoulders before popping the cockpit open and slipping out.

He set his feet down onto the ground and opened the pod to see Ruby still sleeping quietly. He smiled and brushed some hair from her face before reaching in and pulling her out. He hefted her in his arms before shutting the tube and walking towards the elevator.

He frowned as he realised he did not have any free hands before a bystander pressed the button for it to open, to which he nodded his appreciation, and walked into the elevator and bumped the button for the Bar.

The elevator ride was slow, nearly agonising as Qrow began to roll the plan throughout his head.

The doors opened to the sparsely populated bar. He looked around to see three brown coats of Valean pilots with hoods pulled over their head, all sitting around a table.

"Qrow! As I live and breathe!" The Bartender exclaimed with enthusiasm. "I never thought you'd come around again!"

Qrow gave the Bartender a smile. "Poppy, it's good to see you."

"You too lad! What'll it be?" The Bartender edged forward over the table. "Regular, non-alcoholic?"

"I won't have anything at the moment Poppy, but when I've finished business here I'll gladly have one of your masterpieces."

"Alright, I'll be waiting eagerly." They left the front to circle around and serve somebody else.

Qrow sighed and looked around, back to the brown coats. He hefted the sleeping form of Ruby as he made his way to them. He stopped at the table and peered down at them. "You from Vale?"

He noticed that one of the coats had an errant lock of platinum blonde hair creeping out from underneath her hood. "Good to see you Glynda."

The mouth turned into a smirk as the emerald green eyes shone out from underneath the hood. "Of all the people that I thought would've called me, you are the last one I expected. Thought you were married." The smirk grew into a grin.

Qrow raised his eyebrow but couldn't stop the corner of his mouth twitching. "Still amazing, still gorgeous and I wouldn't trade my marriage to her for anything in the world. Sorry Glynda, maybe another lifetime, and maybe if you were to give me a chance."

He noticed the slight tinge of blush. "I would've if you curbed your behaviour, somewhat."

"Yet you didn't show interest until I was married, or engaged. So go figure. But we're not here for us two, we're here for her." He gestured with a nod to the body in his arms.

"You're right, she is what is important at the moment… How did you find her? She's been MIA for at least a day. How did you ever get a hold of her?"

"Weiss shot her down and she happened to have landed a few clicks away from my property in Atlas. Rough landing too, and it was a stroke of luck that Winter and I were nearby. I'd hate to think what would've happened if the search party Atlas sent out found her. We took her in and gave her hospitality until she recovered enough to walk. Don't worry, she's sedated." He added as he saw the look worry on the other blonde's face, the lavender eyes shining in concern.

"What about her plane?" The same blonde asked.

"Wrecked beyond repair, the tail snapped off and went cartwheeling into the forest and the wing broke off somewhere. And that's not factoring in if Atlas salvaged it… Maybe then if they realised how advanced you guys are they'll drop the war."

"I doubt it, even though Crescent Rose was advanced for her time, it's not the forefront of our technology. If they were to drop the war then it would be because they realise they aren't getting anywhere… I honestly forgot who started the war, if there was a start to begin with."

"This war has been going on for decades, since Glynda and I were pilots. And even then, I don't think we remember what started it." Glynda nodded her head to further reaffirm his statement.

"It is rare that we often do remember why we started these wars to begin with… But regardless, Ruby is alive and well. You are here as well. All silver linings."

"Actually." The blonde with the lavender eyes, who turned out to be Yang, stared up at him. "Why do you care? It's not like you've ever met her before. So why the niceness and care?"

Qrow rose his eyebrows at her. "Ruby's, yours and my life are intertwined more than you can possibly imagine. But now it not time to play who, what, when and why. I trust that you will take Ruby back to base and nurse her?"

Glynda was already nodding. "Why yes indeed, she'll be nothing but perfect before she hops into another plane again… We can't afford to lose her."

"No… You guys really can't. Whether or not that's out of genuine concern or just because she's useful, I don't know. But whatever."

Glynda looked at him. "Qrow, I know that you dislike Vale and Atlas alike, but there is no need-."

"Enough, I have spent enough time here already, and you need to get back to winning an unwinnable war. Take her and leave."

The trio got up and Yang took Ruby from his arms, still staring at him intensely. "You're a bit of a dick."

"I don't expect you to understand why, but I hope you will grow up to at least suspect why. Now the war needs you, go on." He gave her a little wave before crossing his arms again.

Glynda walked past him before stopping. "Qrow…"

"Glynda, we spoke what we need to speak of, when you want to talk for personal reasons, give me a call or come and visit me. We are done here." Qrow asserted gruffly.

She nodded to herself before following after Yang.

"Still as stern as always Qrow, thought you would've loosened up when you married that Schnee." Poppy said with some sorrow in their face.

He sighed before uncrossing his arms and heading over. "I know, but she's just like the higher ups in the Valean army, all guns and no care in the world. The sooner she separates her views or finds her own, the better. Other than that, I don't have a problem with her, just her unwavering loyalty. But enough of that, how's the family?" He leaned over the bar and nodded at the tender.

"They're good, young lad's finally learning how to make a lemon lime bitters." She said as she poured a mixture into Qrow's glass. "How's the Missus?"

"Still as beautiful and wonderful as ever. I would never trade my marriage to her for anything in the world." He smiled as he reminisced about how he adored Winter.

"Yep, you're totally caught." She said with a knowing smile.

"What do you mean by that?" He looked at her in confusion.

"Not only is your mind taken by her, but also your heart. Trust me when I say you're Schnee's man for the rest of your life." She flashed a smirk at him.

He looked down at his glass and mulled it over for a few seconds before looking up at her again with a content smile on his face. "And you know what? I see nothing wrong with that at all."


	5. Happiness Through Companionship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU: I'm real sorry for how long it took for this to come out guys. I was just burnt out from Uni, from writing and just in general. But I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Yelling and unfamiliar voices kept floating in and out as if they were moving in different directions.

 

“We need to get her to a hospital bed!”  
  
“She’s going into shock, the wound must’ve been infected with tetanus!”

 

“We’ve got to get her into surgery right now or she won’t fly much longer!”

 

“She’s going into shock!”

 

Ruby opened her eyes and was blinded by the harsh white light that came from the roof. She was stuck in a tent that she did not recognise despite her best efforts. She got up slowly, feeling her head swimming.

 

“W-where am I?” She inquired with a slur in her voice.

 

An unfamiliar voice came from a person who she could not see clearly. “You’re in sick bay. Unfortunately, the metal rod that impaled your thigh was tainted with rust and you went into shock due to Tetanus. Don’t worry, we saved the leg.”

 

Ruby groaned as she touched her head, felt the pounding as if Nora kept whacking her skull. “W-who are you?” She asked a bit more clearly but still sounded drunk.

 

“No one important, but if it matters that much to you, you may call me Cinder.” Ruby’s vision became clear as a woman in a doctor’s coat with long silky black hair and fiery amber eyes sat across from her on a small stool, posture perfect.

 

“C-Cinder?” She looked around in a drug induced haze. “W-what happened?”

 

She looked at her clipboard. “Nothing too horrendous I assure you Miss Rose. While Qrow and Winter did indeed give you competent medical care, they could not have predicted the rust that was present on the rod that pierced your thigh.”

 

Ruby winced as she heard the recount and subconsciously rubbed her thigh. “How long have I been here?”  
  
“Not too long, two days at most. We didn’t really take a glance at the clock when we were operating on you. But don’t worry, nothing happened in the time that you were out on medicine.”

 

“No attacks? Nothing at all?”

 

“No actually, it’s very interesting as a matter of fact. Some of the hopefuls think it’s because they are going to call an end to the war, but I believe that’s wishful thinking.”

 

“It’d be nice if such a thing was true. Don’t get me wrong, I love flying as much as I do but I hate the idea of shooting people down.”

 

“I do it every day.” Cinder chuckled as she marked on her clipboard. “How do you feel?”

  
“I feel like I have someone stomping on my skull.” Ruby groaned as she clutched her forehead.

 

“That’ll be a side effect of the drugs we had to use, but I’m glad to see you in perfect physical health.” She commented as she continued to write.

 

A ball of lead dropped into Ruby’s stomach. “They’re not gonna get me to fly immediately, now are they?”

 

Cinder looked back up with a calming smile. “Oh Heaven’s no. It’s just that Ozpin, Glynda and Yang are worried about you.”

 

“Where’s Yang?” Ruby started to panic as she felt the need for comfort, hyperventilating and pupils contracting.

 

“Easy Ruby, calm now. I will bring in Yang ok?” She got up slowly and clacked over to the door and stuck her head out. Muffled voices could be heard and movement was obvious as a seat scraped across the floor as a bundle of blonde hair came bursting through the doors.

 

“RUBY!” The cloud of blonde hair screamed as it made a mad dash towards Ruby, engulfing her in a near suffocating hug that left her gasping for breath.

 

“Y-YANG! I c-can’t breathe!” Ruby spoke out feebly as she felt her lungs being crushed.

 

“Oh Sorry! I was just so worried!” She withdrew from the struggling Ruby as looked at her with tears in the eyes. All of a sudden she gave her younger sister a slug in the arm.

 

“Ow Yang what the hell!?”

 

“Don’t you dare scare me like that again!”

 

“Sorry if I was knocked out for the majority of my leave, sis.” Ruby remarked snarkily as she rubbed her arm.

 

“Just don’t ever do that to me again!” Yang replied as she gave Ruby another, more comforting hug.

 

“I’m sorry Yang…” Ruby said meekly as she sought the comfort that the hug provided. “I didn’t mean to make you worry, it’s just that I haven’t been able to… I’m so sorry.”

 

They held each other for a long moment before separating again. “Catch me up on what’s happened sis.”

 

Yang thought for a moment. “We haven’t had any attacks recently and neither have we launched any. It has been really quiet on the front.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what the nurse told me but I don’t want to believe it. Could they be talking peace?”

 

“I sure hope so, my back is starting to get thrown out from crouching next to engines all day.” Yang grumbled as she stretched.

 

Ruby however was silent… All she ever knew was the shrieking of plane engines, the groans of controls and the chattering of machine guns. What could she possibly do after this war ends? She had no other experience due to her absolute loyalty to the Air Force, so what the hell could she do?

 

She looked over at the nurse. “U-um m-miss. Am I allowed to leave?”  
  
She thought for a moment before she placed her blazing eyes on her. “I’m going to do a physical before I let you go.”

 

Ruby made the move to get out of bed and winced in pain, a mewl coming out of her clenched teeth. “I’m fine… Just the muscles being tense.” She took a few stumbling steps, gripping onto the strong shoulder of her sister for support.

 

Cinder stood onto her feet and looked at her. “Arms straight, please.” Ruby did as Cinder commanded and she began her physical.

 

It only took a few minutes, but to Ruby it felt like hours. Cinder wasn’t a soft nurse either, she poked and prodded and took her pressure and all the other nurse stuff she didn’t understand.

 

“Well other than a grumpy attitude, I now announce you medically fit to exit the hospital.” Cinder proclaimed with a small smile on her lips.

 

Ruby let out a pent up breath she didn’t realise she was holding. “Y-Yang? C-could you help me out please?”  


Her elder sister was right next to her, looping Ruby’s arm around her shoulders as they slowly walked out of the hospital tent.

 

“What was it like? Meeting them.”

 

“Who? Who are you talking about sis?”

 

“Crow of course! He was the one who handed you to us! Little bit rude and a bit of a dick. But he genuinely seemed to give a damn about you.”

 

“About me? Why me?”  
  
“I dunno, it’s just a hunch for me. Maybe ask him about it. Yeah, when I don’t have to fly a plane for the Air Force anymore…” Ruby went silent as she began to ponder her own future.

 

“You okay Rubes?” Yang prodded softly.

 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do Yang… I have no other skills other than flying fighter planes. You’ve got engineering work, Glynda’s got experience in clerical, Cinder could easily become a nurse… I just don’t know what to do with my life after all of this.” Ruby vented glumly.

 

“You’ll think of something Ruby. You’re smarter than you think and I’ll be there with you. We’ll be fine, ok?” Yang reassured her as she bit her lip.

 

Ruby sighed. “I’m gonna have to get ferried everywhere if I want to fly, now am I?”  
  
“Yeah unfortunately, you’re fit enough to leave a hospital but nowhere near enough to fly a plane by yourself. Sorry sis.” Yang giggled.

 

“Can you please get me a flight to No Man’s Land, please? I need to get out of here for a while.” Ruby pleaded almost pathetically.

 

Yang nodded and left her on a bench and head off to find another pilot, leaving Ruby by herself in her flight coat. She settled into a comfortable posture and felt the slight crinkle of paper. Curious, she felt into her inner coat pocket and pulled out a letter that was stamped with a gear stylised by a wing.

 

“What’s this?” Ruby muttered to herself as she opened it to reveal a neat hand-written letter. She read it in silence and small tears came to her eyes as she continued to read. She took a deep breath to steady herself as she tucked the note back into her inner coat pocket.

 

By this time, Yang had already returned with another pilot that had a bright smile and a spring in his step. “Found your fly boy, this guy’s a little bit of a troublemaker so HQ wanted him to get out of their hair.”  
  
“Pssh yeah right, they know I’m good and I know I’m good. That’s good enough for me. Name’s Sun by the way, just in case you wanted to know.”  


And for the first time that day, Ruby smiled.

 

_In an Atlesian Air Base on the other side of Remnant._

“Are you sure you want to go? I mean if they see you flying they may take it as a thinly veiled threat.” Blake commented, worried as Weiss put her coat on.

 

“It’ll be fine Blake, don’t worry. There hasn’t been an attack for three days, I think I deserve some R&R. Why don’t you come with me?” She asked the cat Faunus

 

“Me? Oh no I wouldn’t want to intrude, and they may need me while I’m gone…” She said morosely, but Weiss could tell she really wanted to go.

 

“Come with me Blake, you need the break. I can’t remember the last time you had time off.”

 

Blake looked down and fiddled with her thumbs. “O-okay… What will we take?”

 

“I’ll just take one of the Arados, no need to take a large cargo plane. How about you meet me at Hangar 14 in let’s say half an hour and we’ll go out to No Man’s Land together, ok?” Weiss smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

 

“O-ohk. I’ll go and get ready.”

 

_Back in a Valean Air Base_

 

“You all good? Strapped in right?” Yang asked as she looked over Ruby’s harness, her hair casting them into a private world.

 

Ruby nodded sullenly as she looked out the window. She was brought back to reality as Yang stroked her cheek. “You ok?”

 

“I’m just useless Yang…” She replied as she looked down and fiddled with her thumbs.

 

The bigger sister sighed in defeat before placing a soft kiss on her forehead and sitting on the other row next to her and buckled herself in.

 

“You two ladies ready to go?” Sun asked as he turned around, smiling from underneath his leather helmet and bomber jacket.

 

“Come on fly boy, get us outta here before I start flying myself.” Yang threatened.

 

“Oh lord don’t do that, we’d never make it. But a request’s a job, let’s get going.” He ducked underneath the roof of the door as he walked up the stairs and soon enough the engines turned over, letting out a shrieking sound before deepening into the growl of a lion.

 

Ruby felt the familiar shudder of the airframe as the engines kicked up a tempo. With a lurch the whole plane moved down and taxied itself down the runway. As Sun increased the engine power they began to fly down the runway before gently lifting off and gaining altitude. Ruby stared out at what was basically her life as the plane adjusted itself on a course to No Man’s Land.

 

_At the Atlesian Air Base_

 

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to fly this thing?” Blake asked worriedly as she sat beside Weiss in the co-pilot seat.

 

“It’ll be fine, surprisingly the Air Force give me a bit of leeway in what I want and can do, we’ll be fine as long as I don’t crush anything else.”

 

“Wait, anything else?” Blake exclaimed in panic as the plane lurched forward and began to pick up speed on the runway.

 

“Never mind that Blake! We’re about to fly!” Weiss shouted in excitement as she pulled back on the stick, tilting the plane into the sky. Multiple people on the air field looked up to hear a plane that seemed to have two sets of screaming coming from it, they looked on in confusion before going back to work.

 

_At No Man’s Land_

 

“Thanks for the ride Sun, I really appreciate it.” Ruby said shakily as she attempted to get down the steps with Yang’s help.

 

“No problem Red. If you two need anything just lemme know, I got some stuff to do around here anyways.” Sun replied as he closed the door after her and locked it, walking away.

 

Ruby took a deep breath and subconsciously massaged her wounded thigh. Yang notice and wrapped Ruby’s arm around her shoulder and helped her hobble to the elevator. Soon enough they were travelling upwards towards the bar in the hopes that it was empty.

 

Thankfully it was sparsely populated. Yang hobbled her wounded sister to the front bench and leant her onto the chair. The bartender came over with a wide and friendly smile. “G’day g’day g’day there little ladies. How can I help you?”

 

“Strawberry Sunrise, no Ice. OH! And one of those pink umbrellas!” Yang answered energetically.

 

“Blondie! It’s you.” A very large and well dressed man came out from the back room and approached to two with wide arms.

 

“Junior, charming as always. How’s the bar going?” She asked with a tilt to her head and a smile on her lips.

 

“It’s booming as you can see, soon enough and I might be able to expand another level! And lemme tell ya I’ve got plenty of plans for that possibility.”

 

“I’m thrilled about that, that’s awesome!” Yang exclaimed as she gave him a slug in the shoulder.

 

“Is this the little Red Devil I’ve heard so much about?” He inquired as he looked at Ruby who was looking at the wood grain of the bar.

 

“Yup! This is my little sister. Ruby say hello.” She nudged Ruby in the ribs softly, which prompted the little girl to wave her hand in a partial greeting.

 

“It’s fine don’t worry about it, I understand where she is at the moment.”

 

As they fell silent the TV overruled the sound. “And as diplomats from both countries meet each other in a neutral place chosen by both of the ruling parties, discussions will be underway for how the two nations will prosper… Wait… I’ve just got this in! Peace has been declared between both nations!”

 

The atmosphere transformed into a cheery feeling as people from all nations rejoiced in the magnificent news. But Ruby was still wallowing in fear, what will she do now?

 

“Ruby Rose…” A haughty and commanding tone came from behind, an eerily familiar one.

 

“Hey aren’t you the chick that nearly shot her?” Junior stated as he looked at the Heiress.

 

Yang turned around and crossed her arms at the Heiress and her protégé’. “What do you want, Snooty?”

 

The ice cold gaze of Weiss fell onto the fiery eyes of Yang. “I am merely here to have some time off, I just heard the news same as you and I want to celebrate.”

 

She kept staring at Weiss until Ruby tugged at her mechanic uniform. “S-sis it’s fine… She can be here.”

 

It was almost as if Ruby drained the fight out of her. Yang deflated slightly before letting the two approach closer, but Blake’s uniform caught her attention. “Are you a mechanic?”

 

Blake shook herself as if she didn’t expect anyone to talk to her, she gazed at the blazing beauty and nodded shyly. “Mhm, I looked after and maintained Myrtenaster.” She spoke with a bit of pride.

 

“Woah! Really! Tell me! What was it like working on such a modern aircraft!?” Yang exclaimed excitably.

 

Blake looked around and pointed to a seat a bit away. “How about we talk over there?”

 

“Of course!” Yang nodded emphatically and followed the Faunus.

 

As they left, Weiss slid into a seat next to Ruby. The atmosphere was really weird between the two. Not even a week ago they shoot at each other to kill. It was Ruby that broke the atmosphere first…

 

“It’s not your fault.” She said it so faintly that Weiss thought she imagined it.

 

“Pardon?”

 

“It’s not your fault, I don’t blame you.”

 

“What are you talking abou~? Oh.” She looked at Ruby’s wrapped thigh and felt a pang of guilt. “I didn’t mean to hurt you so much…”

 

“I know, you were just doing your job. I don’t blame you.”

 

“You could’ve died…”

 

“I made the choice to get into that plane.”

 

“Yet I made the choice to tail you and shoot you down. That crew admire you for what you did and I shot you down cause I had the opportunity…”

 

The uncomfortable silence stretched…

 

“Why didn’t you shoot to kill?”

 

“… Because I’m sick of it all… I’m expected to do as ordered, to kill when to kill. I’m just tired of it all… And you were just like me, forced into service at such a young age and ignorant to the pain and suffering we caused every time we go into the skies… I just wanted an end to it all.”

 

The bartender gave them both drinks. “On the house, we’re celebrating today!”

 

Weiss immediately grabbed hers and nursed it, hands shaking and breathing shallow. Ruby fiddled with her glass and took a sip of it, the drink burning the back of her throat.

 

“We’re no longer enemies.” Ruby whispered.

 

“We’re just pilots…”

 

“With no idea what to do.”

 

“And no idea where to go…”

 

In unison they stood up and placed their hands on the breast of their coats, then placing their hands on the bar. They looked at each other and nodded before walking off, heading towards the elevator.

 

As two planes flew close together, doing lazy tricks and partnership in the skies. Two badges shone brightly on the bar table. One is silver from the Valean Air Force, the other being golden from the Atlesian Air Force.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I didn't like how I ended this series, and I thought I could do better than what I gave you. Hopefully I did that, enjoy!

Ruby was busy boiling a kettle for her coffee, with two heaps of coffee and two heaps of sugar, to begin her routine of the day.

A long time has passed since the war had ended, ten years to be exact. The shock of it all hit her when she finally went home for the first time, her father waiting eagerly for her and Yang's return.

Yang easily found a job, someone who was knowledgeable of engines both civilian and military was bound to find a job. She was currently working in the graveyard, stripping planes off parts that are valuable before shipping the shells off for deconstruction.

_Sometime in the past, at the Graveyard_

"Alright guys, just a dozen or more before we can knock off, don't go slack now!" Yang laughed with glee, hands on her hips as she stood on a wing of an aircraft that was just brought in, looking over at the other workers. She easily became a manager since she was good with people, she was knowledgeable of the work and a lot of the people already there worked with her during the war, so it was a no brainer that she became responsible for them.

"Oi Boss! Ov'r 'ere!" A shout could be heard as a worker called her over. Inevitably intrigued, she jogged over and fell silent as the airframe became visible. All in her beautiful glory, despite being in pieces, was Crescent Rose. The airframe was shattered from the hard landing she suffered from when Ruby went down, but the pure power and the feeling of accomplishment never left its metal skin.

"Wait, what's the symbol on the wing!" She caught herself, there were times when they got an obvious forgery of their planes that the enemy tried to emulate, but if this plane was a forgery, then this was expert work.

"It's a rose! Painted red!" The worker confirmed her suspicions. Leaping onto the wing, she power walked towards the cockpit, finding it difficult to contain her excitement. A unique identification of the plane was the pilot's seat. Since Ruby was far smaller than her peers, a uniquely small seat was constructed for her. There was no way a forgery would include that detail.

"T-this is it… This is her." Yang whispered as she placed her fingers against the cold metal skin. "This is Crescent Rose…" She confirmed the team's suspicions as they all gathered around the plane. Out of all of the vehicles they serviced, Crescent Rose was by far their most favourite.

"Well… What do we do Boss?" Another worker asked of her as she became lost in the memories.

"We… We don't touch her. Store her in one of the warehouses, we can't let anyone else know that we have her." She announced, turning away but something caught her eye. A piece of parchment stuck in the dials. Curiosity overwhelming, she grabbed the piece of paper and opened it up. Immediately, a symbol of a crow was placed in the bottom right of the text. It read.

"Hey there firecracker, sorry I couldn't deliver this to you in person. Winter was nice enough to pull a few strings to get this bucket of bolts shipped to you as is. The Atlesian military wanted it real bad, but we were able to fight that and here's the fruits of our labour… I know that this would shatter Ruby if you show this to her… But I hoped that, you know, a piece of family history would be preserved. I know you're wondering as to why I'm having such contact with you… I promise that everything will be revealed in due time. For once, I am so glad you are like Raven. Best regards, Qrow."

She sighed before looking back at the wreck before her. "Alright… I'll see you sometime then." She murmured, folding it away and into one of her inner pockets. "Alright boys! We've gotta get this hunk of bolts into one of the warehouses before our managers see! Come on, toodle pip!" Her enthusiasm returned like a bolt of lightning as the team scrambled to get whatever equipment needed to move Crescent Rose.

"Now what would this be?" A calculating and lukewarm voice came from behind. A spike of frost was driven into her spine as she remembered that voice. Turning around, inevitability souring her mood, she saw the cold stare from a pair of citrine eyes.

"Hey Blake… What's up?"

"Oh nothing. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but stealing ex military property is illegal… And correct me if I'm wrong again but this is indeed ex military property, that you're illegally storing." She placed a hand on her hip and the look on her face didn't convey any amusement.

"Yeah… You're right… But this is different! This is Crescent Rose we're talking about!" Yang pleaded.

The name piqued Blake's interest, but the only thing that belied that was a tiny twitch of her cat ears. "Crescent Rose? Well… I'd imagine that if done right, no one would know that we've taken possession of such an important airframe…"

"So we can store Crescent Rose?" Yang probed hopefully.

"Since when did we gain possession of Crescent Rose?" Blake asked, a smile tweaking the corners of her mouth before turning around and heading off. A broader smile appearing on Yang's face as she stared at the retreating back of Blake Belladonna.

_Back to the present, at Ruby's apartment_

Another body moving took her interesting off the kettle. In the same bed she rose up from, a curtain of silvery white hair began to move. When they first began to live together, they fought all the time. Different cultures and upbringings easily brought contention between the two. But, as time continued, they began to mellow out with each other and soon enough, they were amicable to each other.

It was weird starting off as they couldn't afford an apartment on their own so they decided to split the bills and live together. They always got flustered when people allude to that they were a couple, Weiss more so than Ruby.

Today was Weiss' day off, she worked as a receptionist at a company that specialises in producing efficient engines, while Ruby worked at a law firm that takes in wounded veterans who didn't get their benefits.

"Why are you up so early?" The princess asked of her room mate.

"You know that I have an early start today, yet you always complain without fail." Ruby grumbled at her, getting kind of sick of Weiss' unnecessary whining.

"Yeah but could you be a bit more quiet about it?"

"More than welcome to move into the other room." Ruby bit back. However, since the other room was full of their personal items, it'd be impossible to sleep there.

"You know I can't do that."

"But what you can do is shut up about this." Ruby glowered at her as she poured her coffee in a to-go mug. Anywho, I'm going." Ruby announced as she walked to the door.

"Have a good day."

"I'll try."

_A few hours later_

Ruby was at her desk, sipping at a fresh mug of coffee, writing up reports about a veteran who had their leg blown off by enemy artillery, yet was not getting compensation for his service and for his injury.

Her phone rang, to which she immediately picked up and placed to her ear. "Yello?"

"You have a client coming in, wouldn't give me a name but he said you'd know him. His daughter is with him." The receptionist spoke with a clear and crisp voice.

"Please send them up, don't worry about the name."

"Yes Miss Rose."

The identity of the gentleman was nagging her until a older looking gentleman came in with what looked like his daughter.

"Hello there, my name is Ruby Rose. But you can just call me Ruby."

"My name is Burgundy… And this man is my father, Citron."

"Charmed." Ruby commented as she shook their hands. "How may I help?"

"The Red Reaper… The pilot of Crescent Rose." The man's gravelly voice belied a feeling of foreboding.

"H-how do you know that?" Ruby's eyes widened, and her breathing quickened. Was this gentleman here to kill her? What is he here for?

"Atlesian Bomber, number 147." He simply stated.

That triggered a flood of memories that she repressed, her flying in the skies with her sights on a limping bomber. On the side was emblazoned "147".

"Y-yes… I did cross paths with that plane before."

He nodded simply. "I was the pilot."

Her breathing quickened again. As he reached forward, she felt the tremendous urge to run. But as he grabbed her hands in such a soft hold, she felt slightly relieved. She looked up in confusion to see tears dot his eyes.

"I-I would like to thank you, for letting me and my crew live… Because of you, I was able to see the birth of my first grandchild. My crew members would like to thank you, unfortunately they aren't able to come. But I speak for them when I say that our lives are in your debt, and that we can never thank you enough."

His daughter moved forward slightly to embrace her. Ruby was ultimately confused but the general attitude gave her all that she needed to know. She embraced her as well. "Thank you so much for letting my father see his grandchild." She whispered to Ruby.

It was then that Ruby realised, that she was in the right for not shooting down that plane on that day. That she did the right thing. Compassion on the battlefield was a rare event, but when it is practised and shown, it can overwhelming outweigh the horrors of war.


End file.
